General News
That Requiem Mass!
By Dr. Jalarth Uche Opara
After a long day, I sat inside the church with other parishioners for the Requiem Mass of a young and promising youth who had passed away.
His death was sudden.
Christ was 33 also strong and full of life few days before He died. On the Sunday preceding Good Friday, He too was the toast of the moment. Garments and palm fronds were spread on the road as the donkey He rode stepped majestically upon them, while the crowd erupted in loud cries of Hosanna! Hosanna! Yet on Good Friday, He died.
In quiet reflection, I see certain similarities between that young man and Jesus. These similarities are not meant for every eye to interpret, but they remain deeply instructive.
Both lives were meaningful and impactful while they lasted. Though short, the essence of life is not measured by the length of years lived but by the purpose fulfilled within those years.
The young man died suddenly so it seemed to many. Full of life, with a future bright and dazzling. Yet the life we live is a life given to us, and only God knows when it will end. No one knows when their breath will run out. Every death, in some way, comes suddenly. Even when signs appear, no one can pinpoint the exact minute, hour, day, month, or year.
The truth remains that our lives are in God’s hands. He chooses when to take them how He wills, when He wills, and where He wills.
For this reason, we must always be ready to go.
The transient nature of life demands that we keep our bags packed and remain journey-ready. Death comes without alarm.
Living a life weighed down with unnecessary baggage—resentment, bitterness, ungodly acts places us on a risky lane where we may be crushed by our own burdens.
We are all travelers on a mysterious journey. How we came into this adventure of life was beyond our choosing, and how or when it will end remains another mystery.
Therefore, live peacefully.
Live joyfully.
Live kindly.
Live with the awareness that the moment may be now.
Much of what consumes us in life is woven into the futility that surrounds human existence the endless chase for material things, the unnecessary strife with others, the bitterness, anger, and contempt we carry.
We are strangers here. Our lives are brief.
Spending our time making the path to our final destination smooth should be our highest concern. We are strangers, visitors for an easy journey, carry nothing that would implicate and cause you eternal misery.
Jarlathuche@gmail.com